


In sudden paradise

by Fuck_The_Gods



Category: Spartacus Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And not between the main pairing, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bullying, Crush at First Sight, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, I seriously didn't see it coming, M/M, Non-Explicit, Self-Esteem Issues, it's just a memory
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-11-18 20:38:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11298402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fuck_The_Gods/pseuds/Fuck_The_Gods
Summary: When his school proposed to its students a package tour to United States, Agron jumped on the occasion to discover the country. Little did he know that he would discover more than he intended, namely a little Syrian boy who would turn his world upside down in no less than seven days.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Solrojo for the title of this fic.
> 
> This is unbeta'd and English isn't my first language so I'm sorry for the possible mistakes.
> 
> Enjoy! <3

Agron sighed in relief when he felt the plane slowly landing on the tarmac of the New York airport. After taking several deep breaths to try and control his crazy heartbeat and wiping his sweaty hands on the fabric of his jeans, he opened his eyes and turned his head to the side when he felt eyes on him. Duro was looking at him, one eyebrow raised and a lopsided grin stretching his lips.

"Don't you dare say a thing", Agron warned his little brother before he could say anything.

Duro raised his hands in front of him in surrender but his smile widened and he couldn't help but chuckling a bit at his big brother's antics.

It was their first travel in plane and Duro had discovered that Agron was not comfortable with the idea of finding himself Gods knew how many meters above the fucking ground. He spent the entire flight fidgeting in his seat, restless, incapable of relaxing not even a little bit. And when Agron was not comfortable with something he was a true pain in the ass. Duro had learned that pretty early.

So it was with some relief as well that Duro welcomed the end of their flight. The brothers then started to get up from their seats and grab their backpacks. They followed their teachers out of the plane then down the corridor to the airport building. Once they get their luggage back, they lined up with their fellow students as one of their teacher explained to them how their stay in New York would go.

"You're going to be paired up and then you'll wait for the family you're going to spend the week with to arrive here. There'll be some paperwork to sign before you'll go with them", their English teacher told them in German.

Agron and Duro looked at each other, grinning. Of course they're going to stay together for this. "Partner in crime", Agron said as he bumped his fist against Duro's.

When every student had found who to spend the week with, they were handed an information paper on which where written some needed information. Agron searched for the name of the family that would welcomed them. "Al-Rahi?", Agron said confusedly, "Yeah, sounds pretty American to me", he sneered.

"Stop being so judgemental, Agron. You don't know them, maybe they are really great. You can't judge people only because of where they come from", Duro scolded his older brother. "I don't think you've forgotten what happened with--"

"Don't you dare day his name!!", Agron groaned as his temper flared up.

The memory of that day was still too oainful in Agron's mind, even six months after the events. Sedullus used to be Agron's best friend, he even dared to consider him as the older brother he'd always wanted to have. But six months ago, two new students arrived at their school directly from France. Crixus and Naevia ended up in their class and Sedullus immediately set his eyes upon the newly arrived girl. Even with him being gay, Agron had to admit that she was rather pretty with her long dark hair and dark eyes and dark skin.

One day after gym, Sedullus succeeded to corner Naevia alone in the girls locker room after everyone had left. At the same moment, Agron was standing just outside of the room waiting for Saxa, thinking that his cousin was still inside. That's when he heared the screams. Immediately he ran inside in search of the source of the disturbing noise; Agron was anxious as he entered, it sounded like whoever was screaming was utterly frightened and in pain. And as he passed by the last row of lockers he saw them; Naevia was on the ground, crying and screamingas she tried in vain to get Sedullus off of her. Her shirt and bra were torn, revealing her small breast and her skirt was completely removed from around her waist as Sedullus threw it aside before moving his between her thighs while his other hand kept the girl to the ground from where it was around her neck. Agron stood there in shock for a couple of seconds before he regained his senses and threw himself at Sedullus to try stop him.

Sedullus was a giant and a mountain of muscles and usually Agron wasn't a match to Sedullus' power, but with the momentum of his run he succeeded to knock his friend down and give enough room to Naevia to free herself from Sedullus' greedy grasp. She crawled on the floor to hide herself in one corner of the room as Agron took a nasty punch to the temple that nearly knocked him out. He expected another blow to follow soon and he braced himself for it but it never came. He looked to the side and saw that his friend was now engaged in battle with Crixus. Well, rather a punition than a battle. The French boy was delivering blow after blow to Sedullus' face which quickly turned bloodied while shouting his rage at the other boy's face.

Agron didn't know how much time had passed before their coach from the rugby team came in to the room only to see Sedullus half-dead on the floor, Crixus rocking a still crying Naevia in his arms and Agron still trying to regain his bearings after the heavy punch he took both in the face and pride.

Sedullus ended up in prison as he was considered old enough by the court. He took 5 years for sexual assault and attempt at rape on minor.

Since then Agron had to revisit his prejudice against Crixus and people in general. Crixus was a boy who thought was better than anyone and when he turned up at their school, he acted as if he owned the damn place; typical of any French people if you asked Agron, all snobish with their luxury shops where you had to sell your organs to even buy a pair of socks, their gastronomic restaurants and philosophers and thinkers. So yeah, maybe Agron had a bias with Crixus and strangers but the man turned out alright in the end and even though they weren't the best of friends, they knew how to tolerate each other. And Sedullus, well, Agron had king of an admiration for his friend, he thought him above everything so it had been a shock when he revealed himself as a fucking rapist.

And Agron had learned the hard way that people were more than what they looked.

"Hey, wanna switch? Maybe you'd prefer spend an entire week with Mr Manson", Donar asked and brought Agron out of his thoughts. "Wasn't it the name of a serial killer?"

"Okay so Al-Rahi it is!!", Agron exclaimed immediately and made his way towards his cousin Saxa.

"Sorry pal", Duro said with an apologetic smile to Donar, "The psycho is all yours".

"Yeah thanks guys! You're true friends!", Donar yelled after them.

Agron didn't stop as he gave his friend the middle finger from over his shoulder.

They were all gathered in front of the airport waiting for the families to arrive, talking excitedly yet quietly about how their hosts might look like. Agron's patience was put to test when after what looked like an entire century but must have been nothing more than an hour really, Duro and he were the only ones left. He was becoming restless and Duro's exasperated sighs beside him weren't helping.

"You think they forgot about us?", his little brother asked.

"Do I fucking read in minds now?", Agron asked back with a growl.

"You're such a jerk", Duro said with yet another sigh.

"Behave, boys. They arrive", their teacher scolded them before Agron could reply anything to his brother.

Indeed, Agron could see a middle-aged couple coming their way from across the street. He used the minute it took the couple to cross the street to study them. The man was of average height and built, dark of skin, with dark, short hair and, as far as Agron could see, brown eyes. He wore a white shirt and grey pants. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the man, though his posture indicated he was well educated; still he was kinda boring, Agron thought. The woman, however, was less common in her looks. She was tall, at least 3 inches taller than her husband, slim and young, maybe 10 years younger than the man beside her. 'You like them young and pretty, uh?', Agron thought to himself. Her long, curly blond hair was craddling a round, white face, well made up and smiling. She was dressed in a rather transparent white blouse that was tucked in a short black skirt that showed long, tanned legs.

Agron grinned. Everything about them screamed 'money', lots of money. Hey, maybe that week wouldn't be as bad as he once feared. He turned his head when he heared Duro sigh beside him. His brother's eyes were glued to the woman, smiling dreamily at her. Agron rolled his eyes so hard it hurt. He could almost see drool coming out of his brother's mouth.

He leaned towards Duro and whispered, "Try to keep it in your pants, brother", before the couple reached them and started to introduce themselves to their teacher.

"Hello, I am Mr Ahmad Al-Rahi and this is my wife Christie", the man said with a thick accent, from Middle East if Agron was to guess, while his wife, Christie, waved at them, Hi, boys!"

"Hello, I am Matthew Nichols, their English professor and these two are Agron and Duro", their professor introduced them as he shook Mr Al-Rahi's hand.

"I thought you were coming from Germany", Ahmad said with a light frown.

"Indeed, I come from Germany but I was born here, in Chicago in fact. I went to Germany 10 years ago to teach English", their professor explained.

"Oh, I see. Is there anything else we need to sign before we can go?", Ahmad asked.

"No, everything is in order. I will leave you, then", Matthew said with a smile. He then turned to the brothers, "Agron, Duro, I hope you will put this week in the company of Mr and Mrs Al-Rahi to good use. I expect you to learn many things and to show to your hosts that you can be good boys", he said in German with a raised eyebrow and a pointed look.

The brothers exchanged a knowing look. Agron and Duro had quite a reputation in their high school. They considered themselves rebels, not liking to follow the rules and prefering to do things their way rather than following another's like an obedient slave. This behavior earned them both countless hours in detention after school hours and more than one scolding from their desperate parents. They were even threatened once by their dad to be send to some sort of juvenile camp for troublemakers. That had succeeded in calming them down. But just a little and not for long when it had become clear to the brothers that their father would never act on his threat and that it was just that, a threat.

However, making a mess here in a foreign country could earn them a lot more trouble than what they were used to back home. And neither of them were bold enough to push their luck to the breaking point. So they dropped their heads and said in unison, "Yes, Mr Nichols".

Seemingly satisfied by their answer, Matthew turned away from them to hail a cab. Before climbing inside, he said, "Enjoy your stay and I see you next week!"

Agron, Duro and the Al-Rahis waved as the cab drove away. Then Ahmad turned towards them, "So boys, are you ready?", he asked as he spread his arms open, invinting them to follow him to his car.

"Yes, sir!", Agron answered politely enough with a forced smile while his brother was still busy staring dumbly at Al-Rahi's wife. Once the couple had their backs turned to them, Agron turned his head to Duro, "Come on little brother, you'll have plenty of time to eye-fuck her later this week".

"What? I was not eye-fucking her!", Duro defended himself, looking at Agron with wide eyes.

Agron faced Duro with a look that was silently saying 'Are you seriously taking le for a fool?', "Sure and I love to suck tits", he said aloud as he started to walk towards the Al-Rahis who were patiently waiting next to...holy fuck! THAT was a car!

Agron ran towards the racing car, excitement running in his veins. He looked at the brand at the front of the car. Porshe. At least they had taste. He took a full minute to admire the car before he turned his head to Ahmad who was smiling at Agron's reaction. "She's gorgeous!", he exclaimed, stars in his eyes.

"Thank you", Ahmad said. "So judging by your expression, I take it she is to your liking?"

"Are you kidding me? She's perfect!", he asserted as he passed his hand over the car's body in pure wonder.

"You're 18, right?", the man asked and when Agron nodded he continued, "Do you have your driving licence already?"

Agron's hand stilled and he slowly looked up from the car to Ahmad. "You mean I could...?"

Ahmad's smile widened, "I mean you could".

Agron looked at Duro and saw his excitement reflected in his little brother's eyes. "Fuck, I love this guy!", he murmured in German so that only Duro could understand. Duro laughed at that and then they climbed inside the car while Mr Al-Rahi put their luggage and backpacks in the car's tiny trunk.

The boys settled comfortably in the backseats while Ahmad put the key in the ignition and Agron almost groaned as the engine roared to life. The travel to the Al-Rahi's house passed by in a comfortable silence only occasionaly disrupted by questions about how they were doing in school, their family or what they would like to eat tonight.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in the driveway of a sumptuous house. Both Agron and Duro were looking at it in wonder. These people had their pockets full of money and weren't shy about letting everyone know about it. Everyone climbed out and the men took the luggage from the trunk while Christie headed towards the front door and vanished inside the house once she had it open. Once they had gathered all of their luggage, they followed the woman inside.

The inside of the house was just as luxurious as the outside, if not more. Each piece of furniture seemed of the finest quality and the walks were adorned with paintings and art of all sorts.

"Your rooms are upstairs", Ahmad informed them. "Nasir will show you", he added before he went to the bottom of the stairs and yelled, "Nasir! Come down, our guests have arrived! Nasir is my son", he added when he took in the brothers' confused expression.

"Does he live here?", Agron asked, curious about what this Nasir guy looked like.

"Oh yes, my boy's only 16", Ahmad said as someone walked down the stairs.

Then Agron found himself face to face with the most gorgeous boy he ever laid his eyes upon. Time itself seemed to freeze as he stared at the young boy. He was casually dressed in worn jeans and an over-sized t-shirt, his long black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and already Agron wanted nothing more but free Nasir's hair and ran his fingers through it. His dark skin was smooth and hairless. 'At least on his face', Agron thought with a smirk. The boy was staring back, he noticed but he couldn't decipher his expression.

There was a cough and Agron blinked several times in quick succession as time took its normal course again. He turned his head around and found Mr Al-Rahi gone and Duro looking at him with his shit-eating grin on his face.

His brother leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Try to keep it in your pants, brother".

Fuck. Barely arrived and Agron was already screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It begins lightly and then...

After yet another moment of awkward silence, Agron cleared his throat and shook his head in an attempt of clearing his mind of the not-so-innocent thoughts about the boy in front of him. The same boy who was currently staring at him with an odd expression on his face, a mixture of worry and pity and curiosity, Agron realized.

'Well, if I was staring at him for as long as I imagine I was, he must think I'm some kind of weirdo or something', he thought grimly. 'Fuck, I need to do something before it's too late'.

"Uh...H-Hi", he stuttered with a nervous laugh to Nasir. Agron smacked himself in his head. 'Seriously Agron? That's all you can come up with?', he scolded himself internally, 'Come on man, grab your balls and say something clever and also longer than mono-syllabes words this time before he takes you for a mentally handicapped person!'

Minutes passed by as Agron was busy with his inner monologue. Meanwhile, both Nasir and Duro were looking at him with funny faces.

Nasir was starting to think the tall, green-eyed boy had a problem. Since he came down from his bedroom, the boy simply stared at him with big eyes and a mouth that opened and closed itself like that of a fish out of the water. And when the older boy finally spoke, it was to utter a mere 'hi' to him. And now he was back to staring again, looking conflicted, as if he couldn't decide what to do or say. Nasir wondered what he might have done to make him react in such a way. That was definitely not the kind of reaction his presence in a room used to provoke. Usually, teens whether those at school or in the streets gave him a quick once-over before shrugging and turning away or completely ignored him. Either way, he didn't make much of an impression and was easily forgotten. But how could it be otherwise? He was so very common in his looks and way too small compared to the other boys his age and even a bit too effaminate with his long hair and gentle demeanor if the rumors at school were to be trusted. There was no way girls could ever be attracted to someone like him; less so boys for that mattered.

However, this boy in front of him, this tall, handsome boy who in all probabilities had to simply lift a finger to see each and every girls and boys in town at his feet, well, that boy was watching him with such intensity now that keeping eye contact was almost too much, too overwhelming. He actually had to drop his gaze when he realized his cheeks were burning.

He took a step back, using the extra seconds it took to make the move to clear his mind and rearrange his thoughts. 'Stop daydreaming, Nasir! There's no way in hell he could be attracted to you, look at you you're not even correctly dressed. Besides, you've just met, he doesn't know you. Love at first sight is something that only exist in movies. You'll call it a miracle if he ever comes to like you by the time he leaves.'

There was a cough again, louder this time but still coming from the Adonis' brother. Nasir blinked and felt his cheeks burned even hotter at that thought, since when did he start to describe someone in such terms? Then the brother took a step forward with a big grin on his lips.

"Hey, I'm Duro", the shorter brother introduced himself as he passed his arm around Nasir's shoulders. Nasir jumped a little as the unexpected touch and jerked his head up, bringing Agron and himself to eye contact once again before Duro spoke again, "And the big idiot that stands before you is my big brother, Agron".

Nasir caught the glare Agron threw Duro's way at the comment and a small smile threatened to pass his lips. "Hi", Nasir waved awkwardly as he didn't take his eyes off of Agron, even though it was Duro who made the presentations and he should be addressing him instead of the older brother. However, against all common sense, Nasir found himself compelled into staring by those emerald eyes.

A third cough was heard and Nasir mentally slapped himself. 'Time to come back from your dreaming cloud and be a good host, Nasir', he admonished himself, not for the first time since the brothers appeared and Nasir found it rather unnerving. What was it about this guy that made Nasir's brain turn into mush? After taking a deep, calming breath, Nasir turned his head towards Duro whose arm was still around his shoulders and the boy looked back at him with a knowing smile and a wink that made Nasir blush all over again. 'God, this week is going to be a long one', he sighed.

He disengaged himself from Duro's arm and avoiding both brothers' gazes he said, "Grab your luggage, your rooms are upstairs", as he pointed behind him with his thumb.

He started to climb the stairs when he heard, "Nasir? Can you help me with my suitcase? It's too heavy", Agron asked him as he, apparently and suddenly, struggled to lift his luggage.

Nasir turned around in time to see Duro rolling his eyes. "What the fuck, Agron? It's not that big", he questionned skeptically.

"It's still bigger than yours", Agron answered to his brother as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Nasir.

He managed a small smile, unsure on how exactly he should react to this...flirting? Was it flirting? Nobody ever flirted with him before. He didn't know what to do; should he flirt back? Or tell him to stop? No, no, definitely not making him stop. It felt too good. 'Hey, slow down man', Nasir tempered himself, 'he probably does that with everyone, it doesn't mean a thing'. With that thought Nasir's smile dropped and he walked towards Agron to help him with his luggage. "Sure, grab the other end", he mumbled as he grabbed the handle of the heavy suitcase.

Duro saw the change in Nasir's features as he boy went to help his brother. He knew that Agron's character could be a little overwhelming to the people who didn't know him and that it usually took several days to people to completely get used to his brother's straightforward and blunt self. "Don't mind my brother, he has the worst pick-up lines and somehow still thinks he's being smooth", he said with a soft smile to Nasir and then went to smack the back of Agron's head. The undignified sound that came out of Agron's mouth made Nasir choke back a laugh that he finally couldn't help but let out when the older brother tried to hit back the other and miserably failed when he stumbled over his own suitcase and found himself sprawled all over the floor.

Agron groaned loudly as the edge of the hard suitcase dug into his ribs. "Ah fuck! It hurts!". He then turned his head to Duro to glare at him but saw that his brother had moved to stand side by side with Nasir and that the two were actually laughing at him. Not wanting to sound harsh to the boy, he chose instead to warn them with a joking tone, "Yeah, laugh while you can, it won't last", he said with a dark smile as he stood up and pointed two fingers at Duro and his future boyfriend.

Yes,Agron had already made up his mind. He wanted Nasir to be his boyfriend. Truth be told, he was already head over heels for him, Nasir captivated him. The boy was gorgeous, though he didn't seem to be aware of that and that shyness? And the way he was blushing at his every glance? Agron couldn't wait for the day he would be able to pierce through that protective shell and discover the boy's true self. It wouldn't be an easy feat, Agron knew. He noticed how Nasir reacted to his shameless innuendo earlier; it was obviously something the boy wasn't used to and he would have to be careful with that so as not to scare Nasir. It had made things to Agron's gut, however, when he heard the boy's smooth and deep laughter. Alright, Nasir had been laughing at his own expence because he made a fool of himself but it was totally worth it, Agron decided and he would do it again if Nasir's joy was what he get at the end.

'Damn. I sound like a schoolgirl thinking about her first crush'.

"Is it a challenge, brother?", Duro asked and snapped Agron out of his thoughts.

Agron grinned, "You bet it is!"

"You sure?", Duro insisted then turned his head to Nasir to whisper, though loud enough so that Agron could still hear, "Agron is a sore loser".

Nasir heard Agron gasped in outrage and indeed, when be turned his head to him, Agron was looking at his brother with wide eyes. "That's not true! Nasir, don't listen to him, Duro always says bullshit. Besides, he's a cheater, that's why I react poorly when I loose. Nobody likes to loose to a fucking cheater!", he said.

"Excuses, excuses. You always say that but you never actually caught me cheating", Duro said as he crossed his arms over his chest and held his chin up, daring his brother to say otherwise.

Agron narrowed his eyes as he promised, "Not yet".

Meanwhile, Nasir enjoyed himself as he watched the two brothers bicker like kids. It was rather entertaining to see them teasing and insulting one another. As an only child, this was completely foreign to him; this closeness with another person, he didn't know how it felt like. Oh Nasir wasn't alone, he had...acquaintances from school. But there was only one person he could call a friend; Chadara was a nice girl, frivolous and superficial, but nice. She was willing to tolerate Nasir weirdness and excessive shyness and all his crap so Nasir wasn't going to complain. However, his and Chadara's friendship was something completely different from what was unfolding before his eyes. There was no easy banter between them, they never confided in each other about their deepest secrets and desires and God knew how much Nasir craved for someone to talk to. Everything about their relationship was as superficial as the girl herself and Nasir didn't know if the problem was coming from her or him; because sure Chadara didn't like to talk about deep things, things that held meaning but when someone was charismatic enough, interesting enough, that someone could influence people around them, make them evolve into better version of themselves.

It had been proven over the years that Nasir clearly wasn't one of those people that could changes another's life for the best. Unlike Agron and Duro. Their influence on each other was pretty obvious to Nasir, even though he only knew them for approximatively half an hour.

The sound of his father's voice resounded in the hallway and Nasir pushed his depressed thoughts in one corner of his mind to turn to his father.

"What are you boys still doing here? Nasir, you were supposed to help them get their luggage upstairs and help them get themselves comfortable in their rooms", Ahmad scolded his son with a slightly disapproving voice.

"Oh it was my fault, sir", Agron intervened before Nasir could reply to his dad. "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was walking and I tripped over my suitcase like a fool. Nasir was just making sure I was alright", he explained with a sheepish smile.

Nasir's mouth fell open as Agron was clearly lying to his father in order to keep him out of trouble. But why, he wondered. Why take that risk, what could he possibly gain from that? His favor? Agron didn't know it but he already had Nasir's favor.

"Are you alright?", Ahmad asked and his voice turned from disappointment to concern.

"Yes, sir, don't worry. Nothing's broken, though I think I'll have a bruise or two tomorrow", Agron said as he palmed his side and winced at his already tender skin.

"Alright Agron, don't overexert yourself. Nasir, help him lift his suitcase", Mr Al-Rahi commanded. "Once it's done, come back down here, dinner is almost ready". And with that he disappeared down the hallway to the kitchen.

Nasir looked at Agron, still stunned by what he did. "Thank you, you didn't have to--".

"It's okay, man, don't worry about that. Help me with that?", he asked as he pointed at his suitcase, "I might really have need of your help this time".

Nasir's eyes widened somewhat. "So you admit that you didn't the first time?", he asked in a timid voice, even though a smile was stretching his lips.

Both Agron and Duro laughed at his comment. Then Agron flashed him a smile so radiant even the sun looked pale compared to it. "You caught me", he said with a false guilty voice.

Nasir smiled back which made Agron's smile widen and oh boy, what a sight. He had dimples! The cutest, deepest dimples he'd ever seen. They were mesmerizing, instantly catching the eye once they were displayed and Nasir, all of a sudden, was fighting the urge to dig his tongue in them. He blushed at his own thought and felt his cheeks going ablaze when he realized Agron noticed it.

"Alright...uhm...let's go then", he said as he quickly turned around in order to hide his embarrassment.

Duro went to stand beside his brother and gave him a slap on the shoulder. "Well done, brother", he said to a grinning Agron.

A few minutes later, the three boys were standing inside Nasir's room after Agron and Duro left their luggage and backpacks to their own bedrooms.

"Seriously, this is not a house, it's a fucking palace", Duro said as he eyed the boy's room in wonder. "How can your parents afford something like that?"

"Dad is a successful businessman", Nasir answered shortly.

"And your mom?"

"Christie does...what Christie does", Nasir said with evident malice in his voice.

There was an embarrassed silence before Agron bursted out saying, "I knew it! You're far too dark of skin to ever have a white mom. Where is your mom? What happened to--", he couldn't finish his question because once again Duro's hand found itself connected to the back his head.

"Damn it, Agron! We talked about this!", Duro reproached angrily at his brother.

"Would you stop doing that?", Agron scowled at Duro.

"Would you stop being an asshole?", the younger brother retorted. "You're making him uncomfortable with your stupid remarks!"

At that, Agron turned his head to Nasir. The boy was sitting on one corner of his bed, his eyes trained on his hands that were resting on his lap. Remorse washed over him. "Sorry, I'm sorry Nasir. I'm such an asshole. Hey, look at me: Agron, the biggest asshole you've ever seen", he tried to joke to make the atmosphere lose it's tension. It earned him a small, sad smile from Nasir in return but he was still not looking at him.

Then Agron took a step forward to Nasir and sat across from him on the bed. He felt the boy tense slightly when he took Nasir's chin in his hand to lift his head and watch him in the eyes as he said, "I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have said what I said and asked those questions, it was really innapropriate and intrusive. Please, forgive me", he apologized with as much sincerity he was capable of.

Nasir watched him, studied him for a moment during which neither broke eye contact nor spoke. Agron was still touching him, his hand cradling his chin while his thumb was drawing soothing circles on his cheek. Nasir was angry with himself for reacting this way; Agron didn't know, he couldn't have known that questions about his mother was a sensible subject. His reaction was stupid and was making Agron feel guilty whereas he didn't do anything wrong.

"My mother is dead", he whispered so low that Agron wasn't sure he heard correctly. "She died because of me".

Agron gasped in horror. 'You fucked up royally this time, Agron'. "What happened?", he asked softly. He didn't want to pry but maybe Nasir wanted to talk and he would be there for him. He moved his hand from the boy's chin to his shoulder before giving it a light squeeze of comfort and support.

Nasir blinked the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes away. Agron seemed genuinely concerned but did he really wanted to bother him with his tragic story?

"You don'y have to tell me if you don't want to, just know that you can count on me if you ever change your mind and you feel the need to talk", Agron then said with so much understanding that Nasir couldn't fight the tears this time and they fell freely on his cheeks and Agron's hand. Agron then took Nasir in his arms and started to rock him and sushering him.

"Duro, go and grab a glass of--", Agron started but trailed off when he realized Nasir and he were alone in his room.

"He left...a while ago", Nasir managed bits of weak laughter between his tears.

"Oh. Well, now I have you all for myself", he said then bit the inside of his cheek. 'No, you big idiot! Now is not the time. Can't you stay serious for more than two seconds?'

Nasir surprised him when he lifted his head and planted a kiss on his cheek. Agron's eyes went wide and he separated himself from Nasir enough so that he could watch him in the eye. It seemed that his gesture surprised Nasir also because his cheeks were flushing a deep red and he was biting his bottom lip. Agron found him beautiful at that moment and if the circumstances were different, he would have kissed him. But the things being what they were right now, he decided against it. The last thing he wanted was for Nasir to believe he was taking advantage of his weak state of mind. Instead he chose to smile warmly at him, showing his dimples that he knew Nasir liked.

Nasir then settled once again against Agron chest, forgetting his sickly shyness in favor of enjoying the warmth coming from this giant boy who appeared to be, maybe, the person he needed in his life to make it just that much brighter and more enjoyable.

Pity that he was only staying a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly from Duro's POV with the last bit from Agron's.
> 
> Enjoy! <3

Duro had felt a little uncomfortable and out of place as he was watching his big brother trying to soothe a sobbing Nasir in his arms. He hadn't expected things to turn the way they did. Obviously the boy had a lot of issues. Of course he had remarked the way the boy had reacted when his brother and he arrived here, like a shy girl too conscious of the fact she was talking to her long time crush, blushing at the smallest of glances or touches.

He wasn't stranger to shy people. Naevia had always been like that with anyone that wasn't her boyfriend and her state only worsened after the Sedullus ordeal. Therefore, Duro had learned and now knew how to act around people like her; he knew better than push them to far or be too straightforward with them or else he would frighten them. However, it seemed that Nasir's extreme shyness wasn't the only problem he was struggling with.

Duro didn't know what happened to his mother but it was obvious she was a sensible subject, for Nasir's reaction to his stupid brother's questions had been a pretty good giveaway. At that moment he had wanted to apologize on Agron's behalf but fortunately his big brother had enough common sense to understand that what he said hadn't been correct and had hurt Nasir. But when Agron had gone to sit across Nasir to take him in his arms, Duro hadn't been able to watch for long and had left the room and gone downstairs.

The image of Agron being so caring, almost loving, with the boy had immensely unsettled Duro. Agron was a lot of things -tough, goofy, flirty, possessive- but affectionate? Nah. Agron wasn't one for display of affection. Duro had never seen his brother acting that way, not even with him, not even after Agron had to protect him from bullies that had ambushed him one day after school. Agron had simply kicked the boys' asses and after yelled at Duro that he needed to be tougher and learn to defend himself.

Duro knew of course that it was Agron's way of demonstrating his love for him but on more than one occasion he had found himself wishing that his brother comfort him by wrapping his arm around his shoulders or toustle his hair like he saw other brothers do between them. It was selfish, he supposed, to think that way because he knew Agron loved him as much as he loved Agron. His brother had proved it over the years in many different ways, but not in the way Duro would have loved the most him to do.

It seemed that Agron had kept his compassionate side under lock until last night. He had let his empathy show for Nasir, for a person he barely knew. Duro felt shame all over again as he thought about that sting of jealousy he had felt towards the boy. What did Nasir possess that Duro didn't to bring forward Agron's softer side, he remembered thinking. Duro still didn't have the answer to that question.

Of course, Duro was aware of Agron's attraction to Nasir, even someone blind would've seen it. Maybe it was sufficient then, maybe it was precisely the reason for his brother's behavior. But it was only a crush, wasn't it? It wouldn't last...or would it? As far as Duro knew, Agron never had what one could call a long-term relationship with another dude. When their parents allowed them to go out on the weekends, Agron would always pick the first boy who caught his interest and after a bit of flirting, they would kiss and sometimes if the boy was really to Agron's taste, they would go somewhere else, somewhere more secluded to do, well, whatever they wanted to do. Some hours later, Agron would reappear and start boasting about his talents, as Agron called it, whether Duro wanted to know or not.

Duro doubted Agron would go to this extent, pleading Nasir's forgiveness, taking him in his arms to soothe him, if he only intended to fuck the boy to put it bluntly. But what was it then? Love? Duro sneered. Ah well, there was an entire week to figure things out ahead of him, so he decided to let the subject drop from his mind. Besides it was too damn early to dwell on this too hard.

He stood up, albeit reluctantly, from his soft, giant bed. Duro never thought he would one day sleep in such comfort. He could definitely get used to it, to this luxury. He stretched his limbs while walking to the adjoining bathroom to pee and groaned as his bones cracked.

Duro was rather excited about today. Nasir was going to school and they were going to accompany him. Then, the brothers were due to meet their teachers along with all their classmates outside the college that were right next to Nasir's school. The teachers wanted them to study how the American schooling system post graduation worked and notice the similarities and differences with their own back in Germany. Okay, Duro wasn't too excited about THAT but the prospect of seeing the city and meeting new people was something he was looking forward to.

After taking a quick shower and brushing his teeth, Duro dressed himself with jeans, a simple black t-shirt and a pair of Converses. He didn't bother to wear his coat since Mr Al-Rahi told them yesterday that they were expecting a sunny day today; and if the few rays of light that were already peaking through the curtains were anything to go by, the man was right. He left his room, giving the bed one last mourning look, to rejoin Agron that he knew was already downstairs. Duro had heard him earlier waking up and getting ready while himself was still laying lazily in his bed trying to make time pass by more slowly by the sheer force of his will so he could linger in this wonderful heaven that was his bed a little more. Needless to say, it didn't work.

Duro was assaulted by too many things for his sleepy mind to process them all as he entered the kitchen. The first thing to hit his senses, or his nose to be more specific, was the aroma of fresh, warm pancakes. He smiled as his stomach growled in response. The second thing he registered was a loud and deep laughter equally shared by Nasir and Agron. The two of them were sitting next to each other at the table, so close that they were almost touching while they ate their breakfast. That surprised him, that closeness shared by the boy and his brother. Last night he had left Nasir in a shaken state, sobbing in his big brother's arms but now he seemed someone new. As far as Duro could tell, Nasir seemed in a much better state of mind this morning. Oh he was still a blushing mess, Duro could see the red on his cheeks despite the boy's dark complexion, but he was also smiling, laughing at whatever Agron was saying to him and seemed more relaxed in his brother's company. He looked...comfortable. Duro wondered what might have happened last night between the two to bring such a radical change in Nasir's behavior.

After he left them together in the boy's room, Duro had headed to the kitchen to see if Mr Al-Rahi needed him for preparing dinner or whatever. He needed to busy himself so he could erase these images of Agron and Nasir, or at least stop thinking about them for a while. After some time, when Agron and Nasir had rejoined them in the kitchen, Duro had asked but his brother had been adamant in revealing anything. It was any of his business, Agron had told him. That was true, it didn't concern him, yet Duro couldn't help himself. He wanted to know, even more now because of what was happening before him.

The air shifting around him brought the subtle smell of a woman's perfume to his nose and Duro put his thoughts aside to concentrate on the last thing that had had his attention as soon as he entered the kitchen. Christie. That woman was sin. She was standing by the other end of the table, one cup of coffee in her perfectly manucured and polished hand, dressed in the same fashion she had been the day before, except that her skirt seemed even shorter and she was wearing stiletto heels. She seemed in a deep conversation with her husband but Duro couldn't make out their words because of his brother's boisterous mood this morning. Duro sighed, he wondered how Ahmad had been able to get the attention of such a beauty. 'Look around you and you'll have your answer', his mind provided. Yeah, right.

He startled violently when suddenly someone snapped their fingers right in front of his eyes. "Fuck! You scared me, you moron!", he reproached angrily at a smug-looking Agron. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Ah sorry brother, I just wanted to bring you back from wherever your impure thoughts had led you to", Agron said, mockery thick in his voice.

Duro then proceeded to hit his brother's arm half-heartedly with his fist in retaliation but denied anything. Instead he walked past him and went to sit beside Nasir.

His bottom wasn't even totally seated on the chair yet that he heard Agron already complaining. "Hey, that's my place!", he argued.

Duro took a quick look in the Al-Rahis' direction and seeing that neither was paying attention to them, he turned his head round and with a big smile on his face he flipped Agron off while he said, "Well, now it's mine".

He heard Nasir chuckle beside him and he turned his body towards him while Agron grumbled to himself as he took another chair to sit on Nasir's other side. "Morning, Nasir! Slept well?", he asked.

Nasir smiled shyly at him as he answered, "For the few hours that I slept, yes, I did sleep well".

Duro frowned slightly and sent a questionning look at Agron from over Nasir's head. Even seated both brothers were inches taller than the younger boy. Agron smirked at him then shrugged but otherwise stayed silent. Duro groaned inwardly in exasperation. Why was his brother so unwilling to reveal what had happened last night? Because it was clear now that something did happen. Duro thought he was going to go mad not knowing, it was like an itch you were unable to scratch.

Duro decided once again to let the subject drop from his mind. Instead he focused on eating the plate of pancakes in front of him that was in all probabilities Agron's but his brother said nothing, too caught up that he was in staring at an oblivious Nasir.

After they finished their breakfast, the three boys made themselves ready for school. Then Agron and Duro wished Nasir's parents a good day before they headed to the nearest bus stop.

Agron noticed how Nasir became more and more nervous as they approached the bus shelter. The three of them were able to talk rather easily on their way there, Nasir opening himself up slowly to him. Agron dared to think that it was because of the time they spent together in the boy's room that was the reason for it.

After the kiss of the cheek, Agron had continued to rock Nasir in his arms for a good twenty minutes before Ahmad had called after them to come down because dinner was ready. They ate then went back to their rooms. However, after an hour or so of rolling around in his bed, Agron had released a frustrated sigh and had admitted to himself that he wanted to check on Nasir to see if he was alright. The boy had spent the entire meal his head down, using his long hair as best he could to hide how red and puffy his eyes were; he hadn't talked at all unless he was being directly addressed. Agron had found it rather odd that neither Ahmad nor Christie seemed concerned or even surprised that Nasir appeared so withdrawn. So he had left his room and as discreetly as the creaking floorboards would allow, he had made his way down the hallway to Nasir's bedroom. He had knocked softly and waited a full minute before he had heard shuffling from the other side of the door. Nasir had opened his door, looking fully awake. It was clear that Agron hadn't been the only one unable to sleep that night.

"May I come in?", he had asked softly, not wanting to impose anything to the boy.

Nasir had seemed surprised to see him but after he recovered he had side-stepped to let him in, then the boy had offered him to sit beside him on the bed, pretty much in the same way they had been earlier. They had stayed there in silence for a couple of seconds, nervous, not really knowing what to do or say. When Agron had made his mind on checking on Nasir, he had been rather confident, he wanted to know if he was okay and if he needed some more comfort or an ear to listen to whatever he wanted to confide. Now however, it was all a different story. He had been at a loss for words and had simply stared at Nasir like a fool. Despite that, Nasir had understood what was his original intention.

"I don't know--", he had started before cutting himself off, trying to find the right words, "I'm not sure I want to talk about it, at least not now".

Taking what he had said for a dismissal, Agron had nodded his understanding before standing up and leaving but a hand around his wrist had prevented him from doing so. Agron had looked back, wide eyes, as Nasir had slowly stood up as well, not letting go of his arm.

"You can stay", he had said, not meeting Agron's eyes, I-I mean if-if you want", he had added hurriedly, stuttering over his words as he did so.

Agron's heart had skipped a beat at the offer. For such a shy boy, he could make some bold request and Agron was glad.

"Yeah, I'd like that"

Nasir's face had lit up at his answer and had motioned him to get comfy on his bed. They had sat down side by side, their backs against the headboard, not quite touching but close enough that Agron could feel heat radiating from the boy. They hadn't talked more instead enjoying the bad action movie playing on Nasir's TV. The silence had been comfortable however, even though Agron had felt the occasional glance thrown his way as if Nasir wanted to make sure he was enjoying himself and that he was staying with him because he really wanted to and not out of politeness. That had made Agron smile but also made him feel sad, the boy was so insecure.

A couple hours later, Agron had found Nasir asleep, his head slightly leaning on his shoulder and a soft smile gracing his lips. Again Agron had felt his heart stop beating for a second or two at the sight. Slowly he had stood, making sure not to disturb Nasir's sleep and had tucked him under the covers before he switched off the TV. As he was about to turn around and leave, he had indulged in something he had wanted to do since first meeting the boy the day before; he kisses him.

A soft and light kiss at the corner of Nasir's mouth. It would have to be enough. For now.

After that Agron had left, without seeing how Nasir had opened his eyes and smiled broadly at his retreating back, cheeks burning with joy.

So even if nothing actually happened between them yesterday night on a physical level, Agron had felt like something deeper had started to built. An emotional link. An alchemy.

The existence of that growing bond had been proved the next morning when Nasir had come to his room to wake him up and take him down for breakfast. Warmth spread as he recalled how open Nasir was then, how he easily smiled at him and laughed to his more than questionnable jokes.

But as he was watching Nasir now, walking slightly in front of Duro and him, Agron wondered if the boy hadn't gone back to his 'old self' so to speak. He seemed withdrawn again and hadn't spoke for a while. The more Agron studied him, the more he was concerned and worried. Clearly something was wrong.

Nasir was nervous, Agron could tell by the way he kept looking right and left every two seconds and his hands kept moving relentlessly, one time going into the pockets of his jacket, one other time he crossed them under his armpits or passed them over his face or through his hair. Yeah, something was definitely wrong and no matter how much Agron wished he was wrong, he thought he knew what was going on and why Nasir looked so fidgety.

Agron felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. Nasir's way of acting reminded him too much of how Duro used to behave each time they were on their way to school. Duro always got nervous in a similar way each and every single day when they were on secondary school because his little brother knew there was a chance, a risk, he crossed path with some of his bullies.

As they walked the last meters to their destination, Agron debated with himself whether or not he should ask Nasir if his assumption was true. If he asked and if indeed Nasir was a victim of bullying, he would be able to help and protect him as he once helped and protected Duro. But would Nasir actually tell him? He hadn't been comfortable enough to talk about his mom, so what made Agron think that he would about this? Agron had no guarantee, yet he knew he had to ask.

As he was about to, however, Nasir suddenly stopped and went as silent and still as a statue. Agron looked over him and saw three boys walking determined, heading towards them.

Nasir whimpered and Agron's heart sank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!<3


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: there is some description of bullying as well as use of homophobic terms in this chapter.

He kissed me.

That thought had accompanied him all night and morning. An unbelievable thought. It had made his heart flutter in his chest every single time he realized it had actually happened and was not a fantasy coming right out of his hopeful brain. Okay it wasn't a real kiss on the lips but Nasir didn't care. Agron had kissed him!

Nasir had never been kissed before. Not like that anyway. The only other person to have ever kissed him was his mother. He remembered how she used to peck him lightly on the lips after having read his favorite book before going to bed. Those days were long gone now, as she was.

He felt a little guilty for having feigned to be asleep but hey, he had wanted to know what Agron would do and to say Nasir wasn't disappointed was the understatement of the century. However brief and light, the kiss had felt wonderful and had provoked funny things low in his belly that he wasn't sure he understood. He could barely hold back a gasp once he had felt those soft lips brushing his last night. Luckily Agron hadn't noticed and had thought him asleep.

He could hardly sleep after that. His mind wouldn't stop thinking over that moment and how bold he had been to ask Agron to stay with him. Alone! In his bedroom! And Agron had accepted and had stayed a good part of the night with him...in his bed! And then he had kissed him! Okay, maybe Nasir was rambling on in his own mind but he didn't really care, he didn't because last night a tall, sexy, green-eyed God had kissed him, little boring and forgettable Nasir, for the first time. He was on a cloud.

All good things in life must come to an end, however, and Nasir was reminded of that as Agron, Duro and he were walking to the bus stop that would take them to school. The soft and sweet cloud of bliss he had been on since last night suddenly vanished into thin air when he saw three tall figures walking towards them.

They were still too far away to make out their faces but Nasir knew who they were regardless: the two tallest boys were no doubt Barca and Auctus and behind them, it was their little trained pet, Ashur.

Nasir cursed his bad luck. It wasn't everyday that they decided to 'meet' him so early. Usually they would wait for him in front of their school to 'accompany' him to his class. But it seemed they had decided that today of all days, they would show up while the brothers were still with him. It was so embarrassing and he didn't want to see the look of pity on Agron's face once he realized what was going on, once he realized he was a victim that did nothing to change things from the way they were, that he wasn't man enough to stand up against those brutes and retaliate. Nasir was sure Agron would think he was less than nothing for those very reasons. And when that truth will dawn on Agron, all hope that last night's kiss had brought would vanish, never to come back.

Nasir tensed as the three boys continued their way over. Behind him Agron and his brother had fallen silent. They were probably suspecting something was wrong and it scared Nasir so much. He tried to brace himself for the umpteen humiliation he was about to receive in front of the two people whose company he had come to appreciate for the last two days.

What were they going to do to him this time? Steal his backpack? Already done. Steal his clothes? Already done. Hold him down while Ashur cut his hair so that he could 'look like a man for once'? Already done. Those were the things they did outside of school. The list was a lot longer than that if you counted what they would do between classes or during lunch time, and those were on a daily basis. Both Barca and Auctus would join him to lunch and make him stumble and fall on the floor before throwing food at him. They would follow him to his gym class and sneak into the locker room to steal his water and piss in it or steal his spare clothes to replace them with girl clothes. Nasir already knew what would be written on his locker in red capital letters: NASIR IS A FAG. Of course neither had evidence that Nasir was actually gay but it was not like it mattered to them. Nasir the shy, long-haired little boy who loved art and sucked at sports and picked up wounded animals on the street to take care of them and only had girl friends; Nasir HAD to be gay! It was only logical.

Nasir's heart was beating heavily and loudly in his chest. It was on the verge of being painful. Each beat was stronger than the last and each felt like a death sentence as his torturers walked nearer and nearer to him. And no, the term torturer wasn't an exaggeration on Nasir's part; it truly felt like it for him. One year and a half that his was going on and Nasir was tired of it but there was nothing he could do to make it stop. He didn't know how. Well, he knew one way how but he never thought seriously about it. That solution was too final and Nasir was too much of a coward to take it. And so he endured. One day after the other.

They were almost in front of them now, just some long strides and Barca and Auctus would be close enough to do what their sick minds had decided to do to him today. Nasir's breathing became shallower and more ragged the more they approached. His heart was hammering painfully now, he almost had the impression it wanted to get out of his chest to crash on the floor, leaving him open and vulnerable.

Nasir had to think fast. He needed to do something so that neither Agron nor his brother could witness what was inevitably going to happen. He wiped his clammy hands on his jeans as desperation was about to take over him. He could come with no solution to his problem and he was running out of time.

It was too late now.

"Nasir!", Barca exclaimed cheerfully as he made the last inches to the trio and opened his arms to hug Nasir as if he was greeting an old friend.

*~*

From the outside, the scene would have seemed perfectly normal but Agron knew better. He saw how Nasir's body went stiff as the other boys approached and even more so when the tallest one, the one with long, braided hair passed his right arm around Nasir's shoulders. He was sure he even heard Nasir let out a strangled noise at the contact. No doubt they were his bullies. Agron felt anger built inside him and he balled his hands into fists. As he turned his head towards his brother, he realized Duro was as aware of Nasir's current situation as he was. With one nod of their heads the two of them came to the silent agreement of defending the boy, should the need ever arose.

The truth was that even though the boys didn't do anything wrong yet, Agron wanted nothing more than beat the hell out of them for making Nasir so uncomfortable and probably making his life a living hell every single day at school.

Agron snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Nasir let out a sigh of relief as Barca released him. It was at that moment that the big boy seemed to notice Agron and Duro's presence. Barca frowned and went to stand behind Nasir and put his hand on his shoulder before squeezing it hard enough that Nasir had to stifle a whimper of pain.

Another wave of anger flared inside Agron. The move was clearly in the intent to make a claim on Nasir and tell the brothers to back off and mind their own business. To hell if Agron was going to let that happen! He made a step forward, took Nasir's hand in his and pulled hard enough to liberate the scared boy from Barca's hold.

Barca let Nasir go but said with an insane smile that made Agron uneasy. "Leaving already, Little Man? Don't you wanna spend some time with us?". He then turned his attention to Agron and his smile widened, "Take care of our boy. You'll see, he's a sweetheart. Aren't you Nasir?", Barca asked with false fondness and the blond boy behind him sniggered.

Agron felt sick as he listened. That little encounter was enough to tell him Nasir was completely under those boys' heels, vulnerable and unable to fight back. Then Agron took the decision that if Nasir couldn't, he would. And fuck the consequences. Agron had never let anyone he cared about be bullied before, he wasn't about to start now. He pushed Nasir behind him as he straightened his back, using his impressive frame as a protection for the boy.

Barca made a step forward but stop as he saw the bus approach. Then he tapped Aucus on his chest with the back of his hand in a way to tell him to follow him as he walked to the bus; Ashur followed as well without being prompted, as the good pet that he seemed to be. As he was about to disappear inside the bus, Barca stopped, looked back and stared intently at Nasir. "See you later, Little Man". To Agron it sounded like a promise and it sent cold shivers down his spine.

The bus drove away and Agron followed it with his eyes until it disappeared down the road. More minutes passed by during which none of them spoke. The silence was heavy and uncomfortable. Agron felt sick to his stomach. He swallowed thickly the bile that had risen up in his throat as he turned towards his brother. Duro looked back at him, pain slightly stretching his features. The scene that had been displayed before them had no doubt brought back bad memories from Duro's own bullied past. He looked as concerned and sorry for Nasir as Agron felt. Now his little brother was not as defenceless as before and everyone knew better than try something against him.

Unfortunately, it wasn't the case for Nasir. Agron looked back at him and he felt his heart squeeze hard in his chest.

The boy stood there, not moving except for the shaking of his hands. His back was turned to him, yet Agron could perfectly picture the look on his face. He could clearly imagine the fear deforming his features, how wide his eyes were glistening with unshed tears, how his lips trembled in his attempt to hold back the sobs making his throat burn as it closed around itself. He could guess his thoughts, of shame, of anger towards himself. Agron knew, because Duro once had to live through the same pain, the same shame, the same despair and the same anger, Agron knew.

And as he did what he could for Duro, he promised to himself he would again for Nasir.

Slowly he approached him, making sure he was noisy enough so that he wouldn't startle him. He saw Nasir tense as he came closer and as he lifted his hand to make him turn around, he decided against it at the last moment when he heard the boy exhale a shuddering breath. The touch would not be welcomed. Instead he opted for a soft call of his name.

"Nasir?"

Agron heard Nasir let out a deep breath as he was wiping his eyes with the palms of his hands. He was gathering himself and Agron waited patiently until Nasir was ready. Eventually, the boy turned around, though he refused to meet Agron's eyes. He said nothing and simply stood there with his head dropped and shoulders sagged. Shame radiated off of him and it made Agron want to run after those bastards and beat the shit out of them and make them pay for hurting Nasir that way. If he ever saw them again, Agron wasn't sure he would be able to control himself. He was seething on the inside.

He realized then that he already knew what he would do to protect Nasir from his bullies but he didn't know what to say to him. What could he even say? Whatever he could come up with would feel lame and cliché.

'Fuck! I'm not good at this', he cursed to himself. Never more than now did he wish to be better with words. But Agron had always been a man of action. He prefered to express himself through his fists, or at least his body, first and then talk and it had never been a problem before really. Agron almost wished the boys had actually attempted something on Nasir ; he knew how to respond to an agression. But this? He didn't know how to react to this. He didn't know what to do, what to say. And it frustrated him.

Then Nasir walked away. Silently. Wordlessly. Without having met Agron's eyes even once.

Nasir wasn't walking away just for the sake of it, though. As Agron followed him with his eyes, he saw another bus driving towards them. They'd be able to reach Nasir's school but they'd be late by a good 15 minutes at least.

"C'mon man, we need to catch that bus. We're already late and you know Mr Nichols will be pissed at us", Duro said as he nudged his big brother before following Nasir to the bus as it stopped.

Agron dragged his feet behind his brother, his good mood from this morning totally ruined by what happened. Seeing Nasir so vulnerable, so completely at the mercy of those bastards, so ashamed of what was happening to him...again Agron felt his blood boil in his veins, his hands balled into fists at his sides and he let out a growl of fury just at the same moment that the bus driver asked him for his ticket, earning the young man a few funny glances from the driver and the other passengers.

"Calm down brother and let's find a seat", Duro proposed.

Agron took the lead as they walked down the narrow alley between the two rows of seats, looking for Nasir. He found him after only a moment but what he saw made Agron's heart squeeze tightly, almost painfully so, in his chest. The young boy had brought his legs up against his chest, his arms wrapped around them; he was resting his head on his knees as he looked at the window, allowing Agron to see and analyze his face as it reflected in the glass. His thick, black eyebrows were knitted together, his jaw tense and Agron could in fact see that every line in Nasir's face was tense. Almost as if he was fighting with himself not to cry or scream. He was fighting to keep everything, every emotion bottled up inside him.

Agron wondered if he could sit beside him and take him in his arms like he had done the day before. He wondered if Nasir would welcome his touch as he had the day before. The two situations were so different and Agron wasn't sure it was the right thing to do; Nasir had avoided contact with him since the boys left...perhaps Nasir wanted, needed to be left alone. That's when he noticed the boy's backpack beside him on the seat right next to his, effectively keeping people from seating anywhere near him. Yeah, Nasir definitely wanted to be left alone. And as much as it was painful for Agron to do so, he walked away and found a seat further down the alley.

The journey to the school was a long, silent, tension-loaded one. Nasir never moved once from his spot, Agron was too busy fuming or looking like a kicked puppy (depending on where his thoughts were taking him) to give attention to his brother who looked alternatively at Agron and Nasir with sadness and helplessness.

The bus was barely stopped that Nasir was already up and grabbing his backpack. He walked down the alley, totally ignoring the two brothers, and stopped in front of the exit door, tapping his foot against the floor in obvious impatience. As the bus did stop, Agron could only watch as Nasir nearly jumped outside and ran towards his school before disappearing behind its doors.

Slowly Agron exited the bus followed by Duro. "What the fuck...?", he muttured under his breath.

He felt his brother stop at his side and put a hand on his shoulder, "You know it's not against you, brother".

"He couldn't even look at me"

"He feels shame over what happened earlier. I mean, I've been there so I think I know something. You remember how I was, how I reacted when I was cornered that day by my bullies and only after they left, I realized that that girl I had a crush on, can't remember her name, was there for the entire time?", Duro asked and continued when Agron nodded, "I was so embarrassed that she saw me like that, like a little boy that needed his big brother to save his ass 'cause he was incapable to do it for himself. And even though she was still willing to talk to me after that incident, she even asked me to go out with her, I just couldn't watch her in the eyes let alone talk to her!"

Agron sighed heavily. "I know, brother, I know. But I just...", another sigh as he passed his hands in his short hair, "...I wish he trusts me enough to know he can talk to me, that I won't judge him, that I--"

"Love him?", Duro cut him off with a wicked smile. Duro's smile spread across his face as he watched his big brother choking on the air he just breathed in.

As Agron was about to strongly deny that comment, a rather big shadow suddenly fell upon the two brothers. Again, Agron's breath caught in his throat as their very angry-looking professor was towering over them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I finally found you!! Where were you? We've been waiting for you for more than half an hour! I called Mr Al-Rahi to know if perhaps you were still there at his house but he told me you left a while ago. We thought something had happened to you! But where do I finally find you? Not so far from where you're supposed to be, tranquily discussing?!! Are you kidding me?!?! I thought I warned you to behave, boys! This time will be the last! You better watch yourselves from now on!", Mr Nichols yelled at them, his face red in anger.

Duro had his head down the entire time, waiting for the storm to pass but Agron wanted to explain their lateness, wanted to explain what was going on with Nasir and his situation at school. Maybe he could help.

"No, listen Mr--", he started but his professor quickly cut him off.

"No, YOU listen! And now you will be good little boys and follow me to the college. We're already far too late", Matthew said as he rubbed his forehead with his hand before turning around and walking towards the college where the rest of his students and the second teacher were waiting. "And I don't want to hear another word coming from you", he added as a warning when they reached the college.

After that their little group entered the building and the brothers decided to stay on the rear to put as much distance as possible between them and Mr Nichols.

"That fucking little cunt!", Agron hissed as his eyes burned holes into his teacher's back.

"Calm down, Agron", Duro whispered back. They were now sitting in a vast lecture hall, listening and taking notes about the class they were attending. Well, that was what they were supposed to do.

"Calm down? You want me to calm down? Do I need to remind you what Nasir is probably going through right now while we're wasting our time here?", he asked angrily. He couldn't stand the idea of staying idle while someone he liked was suffering. "If only he wanted to listen but noooo why would he listen to us, the black sheeps", he growled a little too loud and a few students turned around to glare at him or tell him to shut up.

*~*

Agron stayed agitated and unfocused throughout the day as his thoughts kept going to Nasir. He could see it at how his big brother kept tapping his fingers on the table or his feet on the floor, or how he sighed heavily in exasperation with each exhale of his breath. Duro had tried to distract him but had soon given up. He knew his brother was worried about Nasir, he was too.

He couldn't erase the pain on the boy's face from his mind; it was bringing too many bad memories. A few years back, that pain was on HIS face and to see it on someone else, on someone he appreaciated was painful; it made his heart squeeze in sympathy because he knew what it was like to live in constant fear, to dread the day as soon as you were awake, to feel sick with the thought of what would be done to you for the pleasure of a few sick fucks who thought you were an easy target, to go back home and cry until there was nothing left inside of you, until you were but an empty shell.

Duro was happy and relieved that those days were over for him. With Agron's help he had learned to defend himself, had grown up physically and mentally, to become the strong young boy he was today. His transformation into his more confident self had taken time of course and his stand against his bullies had been made gradually until the day, that day that Duro would never forget, when he said no to them and fought back. He still remembered the pride in his brother's eyes once Duro had told him how he had 'kicked the ass of those sons of bitches!'.

Because of his difficult past, Duro wanted nothing more than for Nasir to walk that same path he had. He wanted Nasir to understand he could (and had to) say no and fight back against his bullies. There was one obvious obstacle however: Nasir was alone. Or at least, he seemed to be. Duro had always been surrounded by people all of his life, family or friends. Agron was always by his side, they were inseparable ; if they weren't so physically different, one would have taken them for twins. And together they were always communicating with their friends whether through text messages or phone calls to plan their next weekend.

But Duro never saw that with Nasir. Granted he was at his house for only two days but still. He never saw the boy on the phone or saw one of his friend coming over. Even as they were walking to the bus stop earlier, they had crossed path with other kids going to school, yet none stopped to say hello to Nasir or even acknowledge his presence.

And if Nasir was as alone as he suspected, it would be difficult for him to find the inner strength and support to make a stand against his bullies. But he vowed that he would help the boy in whatever capacity, because no one deserved to be kept face first in the mud for another's pleasure. He only hoped that one week would be enough.

Time passed by very slowly as they were forced to attend several classes throughout the day. Eventually the end of the day rang loudly in the building and they were finally free to return home. Both Agron and Duro were the first to stand and were this time leading their group towards the exit. Once outside, the two brothers made their way to Nasir's school to wait for the boy.

"Hey guys, wait!", a gruff voice sounded behind them. A moment later, Lugo appeared by their side followed by Donar, Nemetes and their cousin Saxa. "What happened this morning, guys?", he asked Agron.

Seeing that his brother wasn't about to answer, Duro spoke, "We were delayed because Nasir has problems".

"Nasir?"

"The son of the guy that lodge us. He's only 16 and goes to high school there", he mentionned the building behind him. "He's being bullied", he added with sadness.

"Oh shit! Is he okay?", they all asked as one as concern and anger were slowly contorting their features. They remembered all too well what used to happen to Duro.

"So far yes, I'd say. But--"

"Fuck that he's not okay!!", Agron suddenly yelled at him, startling Duro and their friends.

Before he could say anything, he heard a commotion behind him so he turned around. A whole crowd of students of various ages were quickly exiting the school, talking among themselves and laughing, some kept glancing behind them at something inside the building as they did so. Then they stopped and started to form a line. They were all facing the entrance of the school.

Something broke inside Duro. He didn't know how but he knew what was going on. He could feel it. And judging by the expression on Agron's face, his brother could feel it too. Duro swallowed nervously as he watched and waited. He closed his eyes and prayed, he prayed that what was about to unfold before his eyes was not what he thought it was. He prayed it wasn't Nasir.

Whoever the god he was praying to was, he wasn't merciful that day.

After a minute or two, Duro, Agron and their friends saw someone push the double doors of the school and exit. As soon as that person was out, the others pupils started to applaud and whistle.

Through the crowd Duro couldn't see well who that person was but it was someone small and thin and even though he tried to deny it, he recognized the clothes the boy was wearing. "Fuck", he muttured to himself as his heart gave a sharp squeeze inside his chest.

Agron seemed to have come to the same conclusion because Duro heard him take a sharp intake of breath before growling and the second later, he was gone. Neither Duro not his friends reacted fast enough and before they could fully realize, Agron was running towards the boy that was trying (and failing) to hide from those who were unashamedly mocking him, pointing their fingers at him while they laughed like hyenas.

*~*

White hot rage was burning in his veins as he ran towards the cowering boy. He knew it. He knew it, dammit, and yet he had done nothing to prevent it. He had told himself that he would protect Nasir, and yet he had done nothing. And now...now the boy was being humiliated in front of what looked like the whole school. Agron ran faster, ignoring the burn in his lungs and throat as he forgot to breathe. He strongly pushed his way through the crowd and came to a stop in front of Nasir. Instantly his eyes filled with tears as he took in Nasir's appearance.

Nasir's entire face was covered in make-up. His lips had been roughly painted with bright red lipstick; there was thick lines of black eye-liner around his eyes, some having melted with Nasir's constant flow of tears, forming two long streaks of black to run down his cheeks; black mascara could also be seen on his long lashes; finally two spots of pink powder had been thrown on his cheekbones. As Agron was studying him, Nasir kept his eyes down while sobbing heavily.

Then Agron noticed that he was clutching his t- shirt tightly and he realized that it was torn open in the middle, revealing the boy's strangely red chest. Fearing it was blood, Agron tried to remove Nasir's hands from where they were keeping the two ends of his shirt together. The moment his hands touched Nasir's, the boy strongly jerked away from the contact, startling Agron.

"No!", Nasir screamed, his voice hoarse from the crying. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me please", he chocked out through his tears as he started to shake violently.

Agron brought his hand to his mouth in an attempt to stifle his own sob. 'What had they done to him?', he thought, 'What did I let them do to him?'.

None of that would have happened if he had acted instead of thinking that he would act. He could have said Nasir to not go to school today or he himself could have not go to the college and instead he could have followed Nasir throughout the day, making sure he was alright. He didn't know if any of those things would have been actually doable but he knew he should have done something, anything. Nasir had had to go through hell today because he had done nothing. That, Nasir's pain and suffering, was on him.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the voice of his brother yelling behind him. He couldn't make out what he was yelling or who he was yelling at; Duro's voice sounded as if it was coming from very far away. Agron shook his head; it didn't matter. What mattered was Nasir.

He needed to soothe Nasir somehow, he needed to shake him out of his panicked state, he needed to let him know that it was over, that he was here and that he wouldn't fail him again. But again, he was painfully reminded of how bad he had always been with words. He still didn't know what to say. He took a deep breath as he tried to bring his heartbeat to a more reasonable pace. He closed his eyes, took another breath before reopening his eyes. He took a small step forward, kneeled in front of Nasir and looked up at him. Their eyes met for a second before the boy closed his tightly. He was still shaking, still sobbing, though no more tears were falling from his puffy red eyes.

"Nasir", he called softly. "Please look at me, Nasir". But he got nothing in return. He fought the urge to reach for him and hug him, Nasir wasn't in the right state of mind right now to welcome any physical contact. "It's ok now, I'm here. It's Agron, I'm here". It sounded so lame but he didn't know what else to say.

A long minute passed as Agron silently begged Nasir to look at him. Eventually he did and Agron had to blink several times as he saw the pain and the shame Nasir felt reflected in his brown eyes. He had stopped sobbing and reluctantly he lowered his hands, letting the two ends of his t-shirt fall to his sides and thus revealing his chest.

Agron nodded as he smiled encouragedly at Nasir. He lowered his eyes to the boy's chest while he slowly raised his hands. He felt Nasir flinch when his hands made contact with the skin of his torso but he didn't move away this time. Agron separated the sides of the t-shirt completely and looked.

And he kept looking, frozen, as his mind refused to understand the words. The red he saw on Nasir's chest wasn't blood, it was lipstick. Someone left a message on the boy, written with a red lipstick, probably the same that was used on his face. Agron's eyes filled to the brim with tears as he stared at the words and their meaning started to sink in.

He looked up; Nasir was looking back at him. And as if they had made the silent agreement to, they both started to cry at the same time. "I am sorry", Agron whispered through his tears. "I am so sorry". They had done this to Nasir because of him. It was his fault.

"Agron!", someone called. Then a hand on his shoulder. Agron looked back and saw his brother pointing at something on his left. He followed the direction with his eyes to land on THEM.

At once his pain and guilt turned into blind rage and fury. Oh he knew he was going to love erasing those smug smiles off their ugly faces. He knew he was going to enjoy every second of it.

He went back on his feet and immediately ran towards those sick bastards, smiling when he felt his brother close behind him. The tall, dark-skinned boy seemed to be the leader of their duo so Agron lunged at him while Duro tackled the blond one. Agron growled at the boy's face as he sent him to the ground.

His eyes went wide as he started to throw punch after punch to Barca's face and he reveled in the fact that Barca's smug smile turned into a pained grimace. He had took the asshole by surprise and now that Agron had the upper hand and was strong enough to keep it, Barca was as defenceless as a pup who could do nothing but to take. Agron took a fistful of his opponent's hair and yank back hard, making Barca cry out in pain. He lifted his other fist and left it hover in the air above the boy's head.

"You. Will. Leave. Nasir. Alone. Or. Next time. I won't. Stop. Until. You are. Dead.", he promised with a dark voice, the voice of a crazed man, as he punctuated each word with a heavy punch to the bully's face. His bloodrage deemed somewhat with the sight.

Next to him Duro was still fighting with Auctus. The blond boy was taller and broader than his brother and Agron could see Duro was struggling to keep up with Auctus' strength and surprising speed and agility. He was about to go help him when he heard sirens, meaning someone called the police.

Before he could think of the consequences of the cops arrival, he was being pushed face first on the ground while someone forcefully yanked his arms behind his back. He swore then felt cold metal against his wrists; handcuffs. He turned his head to the right and saw Duro in the same predicament as he was. His little brother looked back at him, worry clearly written onto his features. Then they were brought on their feet and lead to the awaiting police cars.

Agron saw their friends and their cousin look at them with their mouths open and eyes wide in shock.

And as he was carelessly shoved into one of the cars, it struck him. He didn't see Nasir on the way. Agron's heart hammered against his ribcage as he searched frantically through the windows of the car but Nasir was nowhere in sight. And as the door closed and the car drove away to the police station, Agron could only hope that Nasir had been taken care of by the medics, and that if he hadn't been able to see the boy, it was because he was already on his way to the hospital.

Yes, Agron could only hope. For Nasir. For Duro. And for himself. The coming hours were going to be extremely difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


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